Jovial Kennels- Miniature Schnauzers and Scottish Terriers

Welcome to the online photo album and story of Jovial Kennels; a private breeding & exhibition home-based kennel. This site is intended for informational purposes and our desire to share the beauty of these wonderful breeds with the community. We are not a commercial operation and there is no public visitation. Our dogs are personal pets first, and show dogs on the side.

My name is Michael Ward, the founder and co-owner of Jovial Kennels which is co-owned by Joseph Kinnarney, DVM. In 1989, I read Shakespeare's Hamlet and found the word "jovial." Since it means happy and high spirited, I knew I'd found the perfect name for a terrier kennel.

I was 17 when showing dogs sparked my interest. I started by helping friends and eventually got a couple of dogs of my own to show. Shortly after Joe and I became partners in dogs, I spent the summer of 1992 working for AKC professional dog handler Maripi Wooldridge, where I learned finer aspects of show-dog grooming and exhibition.

The first dog to bear the name Jovial was Sole Baye's Jovial Lady, purchased from Yvonne Phelps in California. Lady was our foundation bitch, however, she was only shown for 3 weekends. We decided against finishing her championship so that she could fulfill her destiny: our first litter. Her one and only litter produced three excellent puppies, two of whom are champions. Demi, the only female, is now a top-producing bitch, who now lives a life of retirement on the couch in the family room.

After graduating from university, I discovered I dislike working solely with "impersonal" corporate America. I am now happily pursuing studies in Hatha Yoga and perform Massage & Neuromuscular Therapy. Dr. Kinnarney owns Reidsville Veterinary Hospital, one of the largest veterinary practices in North Carolina. Due to our tremendous schedules, we can't always go to enough dog shows to show our own dogs. We feel strongly that our dogs are of exceptional quality; therefore, we only want the best professional handlers to show our dogs when we can't.

Maripi Wooldridge was one of the foremost professional handlers in the United States prior to retirement. It was Maripi who asked me if Joe was interested in Scottish Terriers. My first real show dog was a Scottie, so it just made sense for us to have Scotties too. At that point, we were introduced our greatest star, Canadian & American Champion Gaelforce PostScript, aka Peggy Sue. Peggy Sue is the breed record setter, winning numerous all breed Best In Shows; Best in Specialty Shows; the most consecutive national specialty wins of any other Scottie; and was the winner of the coveted Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show held at Madison Square Garden in 1995.

Additional professional dog handlers we use are Bergit Coady-Kabel in California, Chris & Vicki Williams in Arizona and Kurt Garmaker in Georgia.

Where do the dogs live?

The dogs live in our home as part of our family. Our dogs, above all, are our pets and companions. We are located in Greensboro, North Carolina. The "kennel" is actually within the house, with a large gravel courtyard for the dogs to run and play. There is a living room, kitchen and play area indoors for everyone. And of course, many of the dogs spend time upstairs as part of the family or on the couch in the grooming room. They especially like to play pool with us in 'their' game room. Additionally, we employ a full-time house-keeper to care for the dogs' daily needs and maintain our high standards.

These are pictures of my grooming and play room. We spend much of our evenings in this room playing with our dogs and enjoying their company. There's a full kitchen, surround sound and an air-hockey table to keep everyone entertained.

All the dogs get to run in the yard. It is private and isolated, so they can run and bark all they want. They especially like to bark at the geese on the lake in the back yard.